Oak Leaf Cuts were made by the early settlers
of eastern Canada as a decoration for their homes and
to remind themselves of the coming spring during long,
cold winters. You can make them for your home using
tree and bush leaves that grow in your area. Collect
your favorite leaves and then duplicate their shapes
in paper. Just follow these simple instructions:

What you'll
need:

newspapers

colored construction paper or other colored paper of your choice

scissors

pencils

paste or glue

Before you begin, gather all of your supplies
together and put them on the counter. Read all of the
directions from start to finish to become familiar with
the procedure. Now you are ready to begin.

1. Cover your work area completely with newspaper.

2. Cut a large green paper square and a smaller
brown or orange paper square.

3. Fold both of the squares in half from corner
to corner.

4. Fold them in half from corner to corner two
more times.

5. On the longest folded edge of the brown paper,
draw half of an acorn. The stem should be drawn
so that it ends on the short folded edge of the
paper, as shown.

6. Then draw half of an oak leaf on the longest
folded edge of the green paper. Again, draw the
stem of the leaf so that it ends on the short
folded edge of the paper, as shown.

7. Cut out the leaf and the acorn. Unfold the papers.

8. Paste or glue the acorns to the center of
the leaves. The acorns may be placed on top or
below the leaves, whichever you prefer.

9. You may display your leaf cuts by hanging them
up or by pasting them on another sheet of paper.

Adapted from Papercrafts Around the
World, by Phyllis Fiarotta and Noel Fiarotta (Sterling
Publishing Company, New York, 1996).